Kheema Pav – Instant Pot

Kheema Pav – A popular street food in India, Kheema or Keema Pav is a robust, peppery curry dish made with minced chicken or lamb cooked with onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and earthy spices! Served with lightly toasted buns or pav laden with butter or homemade ghee on the griddle makes a blissful meal!

My mom arrived last week from India, she is visiting me after a long time and I am SO excited to have her with us. With her high spirits and energy, she has already tried her hand on the Instant Pot that she has been hearing all about.

What is Kheema?

Also known as Keema or Queema, Kheema is a Urdu word for minced meat such as chicken, lamb, beef, etc. The word Kheema means ground meat and it also means a spicy curry made with ground chicken often served with paav which are similar to hamburger buns/potato rolls.

Variations for making and serving Kheema:

Add 1/2 cup of green peas to the curry just before pressure cooking.

Add a peeled and diced potato and sauté it with the onions. This will give more thickness to the curry.

Add 1-2 spicy green chilies or one diced jalapeño for spicier kheema.

Substitute ground chicken with ground lamb, turkey or beef and follow the same recipe.

Serve as a chili topped with diced red onions, jalapeños, corn, cilantro and a squeeze of lime for a gluten-free option.

PRO tip:

When buying the rolls or buns to be served with Kheema, check the Sugar contents on the pack. As long as sugar is 2% or less the bread does not taste overly sweet and works well with Indian curries.

Step by step recipe for Kheema Paav in Instant Pot:

From the back of the camera as I shot this video it took me back to the fond memories of my childhood. Her waiting for the oil to heat up and then adding the cumin seeds, listening for the soft sizzle sound and a whiff from gently toasting them. Adding turmeric and roasting the spices at each step, soon filled up my kitchen with wonderful aromas.

Added a finely chopped onion and sautéed it until it turned soft and translucent.

The last step is to add the ground chicken, breaking it in and mixing it with the other ingredients in the pot. Add half a cup of water and pressure cook for 4 minutes.

This recipe works well with either natural pressure release or quick release. Garnish with a handful of chopped cilantro and enjoy with hot ghee-ladden potato rolls!

I am so excited to post my mom’s first recipe, Kheema Paav, on Ministry Of Curry!

I was very impatient and hungry (as usual) as I shot the video and honestly, the Kheema Pav was so full of flavor with heavnly aromas. The gorgeous orange hue from the Kashmiri red chili powder and turmeric, the warmth from the homemade garam masala and the earthy flavors from roasted coriander powder were spot on!

Here is Mom’s easy Chicken Kheema recipe:

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Add ground chicken and breaking it with a spatula. Add 1/2 cup of water (You can add 2 tablespoons of water for a thicker curry, but I like the extra gravy to dip the bread).

Close Instant Pot with the pressure valve to sealing. Cook on Manual(Hi) for 4 mins followed by Natural Pressure Release.

Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with potato rolls or burger buns lightly toasted with some ghee on a griddle.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Variations:

Add 1/2 cup of green peas to the curry just before pressure cooking.

Add a peeled and diced potato and sauté it with the onions. This will give more thickness to the curry.

Add 1-2 spicy green chilies or one diced jalapeño for spicier kheema.

Substitute ground chicken with ground lamb, turkey or beef and follow the same recipe.

Serve as a chili topped with diced red onions, jalapeños, corn, cilantro and a squeeze of lime for a gluten-free option.

Tip:

When buying the rolls or buns to be served with Kheema, check the Sugar contents on the pack. As long as sugar is 2% or less the bread does not taste overly sweet and works well with Indian curries.

Nutrition Facts

Kheema Pav - Instant Pot

Amount Per Serving

Calories 223Calories from Fat 117

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 13g20%

Saturated Fat 2g10%

Cholesterol 97mg32%

Sodium 671mg28%

Potassium 766mg22%

Total Carbohydrates 6g2%

Dietary Fiber 1g4%

Sugars 2g

Protein 20g40%

Vitamin A14.4%

Vitamin C12.5%

Calcium3.4%

Iron10.5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Hey there! I am a techie turned recipe developer, cooking instructor, and food blogger. I love food and enjoy developing easy and healthy recipes for busy lifestyles. I live New Jersey with my husband and two sons.

Yes that is def a lot of vegetables. Increase the water next time. Also you can always adjust water in the end. Just warm up some water, add to IP and set IP to saute mode to bring the kheema to a gentle boil

This was really delicious! Thank you for the recipe! I doubled the recipe and it worked fine in a 6 qt instant pot, if anyone else is wondering that. Also topped with a bit of red onion, cilantro and squeezed lime.

Hi Hina, Although I have not tried with beef kheema, a few of my followers have tried with the same timings and it has worked. Let me know how it works out for you. Kheema flavors come out amazing in the Instant Pot!!

I finally started enjoying cooking….thanks to you and IP …your recipes have been foolproof…..don’t have to change a thing, just following every word and it has turned out good every single time…..Thanks a lot….you are an awesome cook!

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Hi, I'm Archana! I'm a techie by trade but chef by heart. Welcome to my world of home cooking, crafts and most importantly, family experiences. Here you'll get doses of my family's daily meals. My step by step recipes will help you easily transport the flavors of India, Thailand, China and all over the world from my kitchen to yours.